I should’ve known I wouldn’t have been able to hide the truth about Rebel for long, especially from the people who literally raised me. I could never lie to them, and I remember when we were kids that Malcolm would be constantly frustrated at that little character trait of mine, mainly because whenever we both did something naughty, like sneak the cookie dough out of the fridge and gorge ourselves until we were sick, I was always the one to admit it when Cecilia asked.

Just now, refusing to tell them who Rebel’s “mother” was, that had to be the first time I’d ever lied to them. Well, fine, I didn’t exactly lie, but I didn’t tell them the truth. Hell, I couldn’t find it in myself to say anything besides a choked-out apology. I was just so scared of the reactions I would get if it came out that Rebel was Malcolm’s.

They would hate me, I was sure of it, I would be banished because of it, and Malcolm would be a laughing stock at best. I couldn’t do that to him, I loved him too much to ruin his life by telling him the truth. Yet I still couldn’t lie, either, so if I just never said anything, then I wouldn’t be lying to them.

The Paige clan already thought I was nothing but a cheap whore that Amos felt sorry for, and even if it hurt when they glared at me, even if it pained me whenever the female, or even the male, wolves came up to make some quip about me being an easy lay, why don’t I drop down and suck them off, I took it with a grain of salt and just smiled, because I didn’t care if they all thought I was a whore.

Malcolm was safe from the ridicule, I had a beautiful boy who called me dad, and the loyalty of a lone wolf I considered one of the best friends I would likely ever have. I didn’t care that the Paige clan thought I was a whore, I probably wouldn’t care if the Kerry clan thought the same thing, because I had no plans of correcting them.

So, I would be a whore. That was fine with me. Even if… even if Malcolm thought I was a whore along with the rest of them, even if he glared at me and never spoke to me again… that was okay, because he was safe, and I still had Rebel. Rebel and Shaede both knew the truth, and that’s all I cared about.

Or so I said, but the tears were still falling as I shuffled my feet on the way home, arms wrapped around myself as I shivered against the cold wind, lifting a hand to scrub at the tears with the heel of my palm and stopping in my tracks when I heard the familiar voice. I quickly rubbed the rest of the tears away and wiped my nose with my sleeve before turning, a heavy frown forming on my lips when Priscilla stopped a few steps away from me.

“What is it this time?” I sighed out, “Are you here to complain about how I shouldn’t be alpha? You want to move back to the former pack land?”

“Why is the cabin they gave you so much more elegant than mine?”

I nodded my head to the side, rolling my eyes, “There’s a new one.”

“I’m the only daughter of the alpha of this pack! I obviously deserve something so much better than the shack they gave me!”

“Casually disregarding the fact Amos left that title to me, that’s fine,” I lifted both hands to rub my eyes and sighed, “Alpha Wade likely gave me what he did because of the fact I am the ambassador between our packs, I grew up here, he and his wife literally raised me, and I am in fact the alpha of Paige clan,” I dropped my hands, “Do you need another reason? I have one. You’re on your own, but I’m living with two others, so I need the extra two rooms for them. Are you being selfish or are you just desperate for things to complain about?”

“Moving here was a foolish idea!”

I snapped my fingers, “There it is, that’s what I was waiting for.”

“These wolves are horrendous! None of them believe me when I say I’m Luna!”

I shrugged, “Why?”

“Maybe because of the fact we don’t stay in the same house, and we stay so far away from each other?” Priscilla suggested, “I told your idiot pack that I was your mate, and they laughed at me!”

“What do you expect me to do about that?! We don’t exactly act like mates!”

“Maybe we should,” Priscilla scoffed, and I felt sour bile rising in my throat as she reached up to brush her fingers over my cheek, making me tense up, jaw clenching as she stared at me with lidded eyes, “Scott… moving here was supposed to make things better. Not just for both packs, but for us! Dad thought it could bring us closer! You know all he wanted was for us to be happy together!”

My heart throbbed, because she was right. All Amos wanted was for his daughter to be happy, and for me to be happy, for us to somehow set aside our differences and connect as chosen mates like we were supposed to. I respected that man more than anything, but… something like that, with this woman, this woman who, more than once, physically attacked my son, who was somehow my mate… that wasn’t possible.

“Scott,” she breathed my name, her fingers stretching so she was holding the side of my face, pushing herself closer, but the minute I realized what she was trying to do, her breath ghosting my chin, I lifted a hand to her chest and shoved her back, scowling.

“Don’t bother,” I snapped, “I married you because of my duty to the customs, my duty as an ambassador, I have no interest in mating with you.”

Priscilla’s stunned expression faded into utter fury as she bristled like an angry cat. The moon wasn’t full yet, but the light itself was shining down into the courtyard, washing over us, and pumping us full of feral energy. Her eyes slit and she bared her teeth, the canines sharpened to a dangerous point as she lashed out at me, slapping me hard across the face.

The hit was so powerful it forced my head to turn, and I stared wide eyed at the ground as she snapped at me, “Fuck you! I can’t believe you! I try to connect with you, and you do shit like this! Why?! Because of that fucking cunt you stuck your dick in to get that pig of a child?! You’re disgusting! You’re just a fucking whore, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows it!”

I turned my eyes to look at her, and the hand she’d used to slap me, mildly stunned that her nails had elongated and were tipped with red. I lifted a hand to touch my stinging cheek, pulling it away to see the blood smeared across my fingers. Okay, I guess that wasn’t too surprising, but it was definitely a little irritating. Then again, I suppose I deserved it.

“Go ahead,” I decided, holding my hand up towards my cheek to try and wipe off the blood that was slipping down to my chin, “It won’t make a difference if these wolves peg me as a whore the same as the Paige clan does. Amos trusted in me, he passed his energy on to me, and that can’t be changed just because people think I’ll go around fucking everyone but my chosen mate. I was born alpha, and Amos gave me his clan seconds before dying. No one can change that.”

“Maybe,” Priscilla said, her lips twitching up as she whispered, “You know the laws, though. If you happen to die, your energy will fall on your heir, respectably, even if you weren’t able to hand it to them yourself.”

“So, Rebel will take my place if you assassinate me,” I shrugged, and Priscilla’s grin seemed to widen.

“That pig is not an heir. He’s simply a cancerous tumor that needs to be cut out. It’s an easy fix.”

I felt my own jaw tug with the growing of my canines as I reached out, grabbing a handful of Priscilla’s hair, making her squeak, “What have I told you about threatening my son, bitch?”

“Scott? That you?”